SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Two students were shot dead in the port town of Valparaiso in Chile on Thursday afternoon following a protest march earlier in the day.
The two local university students, aged 18 and 25, were apparently killed by an irate householder as they sprayed graffiti on the wall of his building, media reported, citing police as saying the shooter had been arrested.
The incident provoked anger among student activists, who stage regular demonstrations that sometimes lead to clashes with the police, demanding better quality and cheaper education in Chile's deeply unequal society.
"It could have been any one of us," tweeted Giorgio Jackson, who rose to fame as a student leader and is now a Congress lower house representative.
"It is a symptom of a sick and individualist society that values a wall more than the life of two young people."
Students said they planned to hold a candlelight vigil on Thursday evening in Valparaiso, which is about 120 kilometres (75 miles) west from the capital Santiago.